Macrobiotic Lessons Learned (Part 1) & an Interview

The first thing I learned on my macrobiotic experiment: it is way harder than I thought.

Some things I ate that were not very macrobiotic:

honey

vanilla soy ice cream (organic though, and no sugar)

a bunch of oranges (citrus fruit) dipped in light coconut milk

too much salt!

stevia in my tea

Things I am proud that I did not eat:

yogurt

fake sweeteners

snacky processed foods

I’m going to buy some brown rice syrup to help with the sugar cravings. I realized that I have a huge dependency on fruit. It makes up a very large part of my diet. Over the next 2 weeks I’m going to try to replace some of the fruit with whole grains instead – wheat berries, oatmeal, and brown rice mainly.

The other issues I’m having are: not eating 3 hours before bed, eating 3 square meals, and chewing thoroughly. I think I can fix the chewing thing. Not eating 3 hours before bed – much harder. Not grazing – much harder. Appreciating and taking time to eat – much harder.

I’m going to have to break this down into daily goals. Today’s challenge: not eating 3 hours before bed. What would the hardest part of this challenge be for you?

Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2.

I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).

You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Questions

You are a big advocate of yoga, what initially drew you to trying yoga in the first place?

I’ve been trying yoga off and on since high school, but for some reason it never stuck until about a year ago. A year ago I wasn’t in that great a place physically/mentally and yoga made me feel strong and energized. It was something I could do that always made me feel good. I started doing it 2-3 times a week. Then this past summer I discovered Power Yoga and I was hooked. Now it’s a daily thing.

How did you and Bobby meet?

Bobby and I lived on the same floor in the dorms during our sophomore year of college (Cornell). Bobby and a few of his friends were randomly knocking on doors trying to get people to go to a party, and I thought he was cute so I went. We ended up being best friends for about a month before we started dating. I’ve lived with him ever since (3 years this past December!).

If you were granted a check of $100,000 but had to give it to charity, which charity (or charities) would you choose? Why?

I would give the money to the World Wildlife Fund. Their mission is the conservation of nature. They protect endangered species, they protect the environment, they promote sustainability and energy efficiency. All of these causes are things that I find very important and I like how they have a variety of goals. They also seem more honest/well-organized than some other non-profits.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve is when people complain all the time and do nothing to fix their problems. I met a lot of people like this in college, and it always bugged the heck out of me. I know I probably do this occasionally, but it’s still my pet peeve!

Who is your role model/inspiration?

My role model is… probably my dad. I’m very similar to him (personality-wise). He’s 51 years old and he has his own company, he’s in great health, and he’s funny and caring. He always found time for me and my siblings after working all day and he made us love the outdoors. He grew up on an almost-farm (they had a horse, dog, geese, lots of cats) and he always seems to know everything that I need to know, whether it’s when I should get my oil changed or how to cook a pizza.

Thanks for the interview K! Now I am off to do a 90-minute Dave Farmar Yoga podcast.

20 Replies to “Macrobiotic Lessons Learned (Part 1) & an Interview”

I’d say the hardest part for me would be not eating 3 hours before bed time. School doesn’t get out until 9:30pm, so dinner’s not ’til almost 10! It’d be hard altering that, but maybe worth a shot when I’m not in school anymore. Good luck with your daily goal today!

wow I love the answers that you gave to those interesting questions. Especially that your role model is your dad! I am totally the same way and pretty much for the same reasons. 🙂 You can totally tell what a grounded, kind person you are from your responses. And WOW macrobiotic diet…seems…hard. (too hard for me. i can’t live without yogurt!!)

Ha – your Dad is a role model for me too…well, at least his stove-top oats recipe. 🙂

Wow, the macrobiotic thing does sound challenging. I’d be okay without the fruit as I try to avoid eating it more than once or so a day. The dairy part would be a huge challenge, but I think I could do it. I guess no more Healthy Choice fudge bars, huh?

I hope you enjoyed your Dave Farmar today. I tried a power yoga class this morning. The hamstring is better, but not yet 100%. I’m just going to ease back into things. We’ll see.

damn it – i was literally about to write you an interview mail (i came on here to check your email ad) and i see you’ve been snagged already! oh well, it was great reading these answers. and it’s funny how things turn out harder in ways that maybe you might not expect – it makes you learn so much about yourself!

that’s such a cute story about you and bobby! it’s always great to be good friends before you start dating; it gives you such a good foundation to start from.
i’ll be interested to hear how the macrobiotic experiment goes. the hardest part for me would be giving up fruit, i think, since i love it so much.